LIVE: House hearing on TSA funding and airport security amid shutdown

TSA callout rates spike to 40-50% at major airports

Officer absenteeism has surged from a baseline of 4% to as high as 40-50% as unpaid workers cannot afford transportation or childcare, forcing lane consolidations and threatening smaller airport closures.

Wait times reach historic highs exceeding 4.5 hours

Severe staffing shortages have created the longest security lines in TSA history, with some passengers facing waits over four and a half hours during peak travel periods.

Assaults on officers increase over 500%

Frustrated travelers have contributed to a more than fivefold increase in attacks on TSOs since the shutdown began, requiring the agency to pursue legal prosecution of numerous incidents.

TSA workforce faces nearly $1 billion in withheld pay

By the hearing date, TSA personnel had missed nearly $1 billion in combined wages across 85 days of fiscal year shutdowns, forcing some officers to sleep in cars, sell blood plasma, or default on loans.

Over 480 officers resigned during current shutdown

TSA has lost more than 480 Transportation Security Officers during this shutdown alone, compounding the departure of over 1,550 TSOs during the previous two shutdowns.

Recruitment pipeline cannot replace departing staff

With new TSOs requiring four to six months of training and onboarding, the agency cannot rapidly replace experienced officers who are quitting for jobs with steady paychecks.

Partisan dispute over funding responsibility dominates hearing

Ranking Member Thompson accused Republicans of blocking Democratic bills to fund TSA and other agencies, while the Chairman claimed Democrats oppose full DHS funding packages in favor of partial appropriations.

ICE agents deployed to airports despite training gaps

Democrats criticized the deployment of ICE agents with only 47 days of training to assist TSOs who receive six months of specialized screening instruction, noting the agents cannot perform security functions.

FIFA World Cup security threatened by staffing crisis

With the World Cup opening June 11th across 11 US cities and millions of international visitors expected, current staffing levels and officer exhaustion present dire efficiency and security vulnerabilities.

Cybersecurity and emergency capabilities severely degraded

CISA has lost approximately one-third of its workforce (1,000 employees) and FEMA over 2,000 personnel, weakening national cyber defenses and disaster response capacity during persistent terrorism threats.